«　WEEK 3　DAY 4　»

　　Judg. 9:13 But the vine said to them, Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?

　　Phil. 2:17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and I rejoice together with you all.

　　Now let us see something concerning the trees. The first is a vine tree. What does the vine represent?… In one sense it depicts the sacrificing Christ, the Christ who has sacrificed everything of Himself. But this is not the main point. The main significance is that out of His sacrifice He produced something to cheer God and man—new wine [cf. Judg. 9:13]. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” p. 239)

　　Sometimes under the Lord’s sovereignty we are put into a certain situation in which we must sacrifice ourselves to make others happy and the Lord happy. When in this situation we come to contact the Lord, it is then that we experience Him as the wine-producing vine; we experience Christ as the One who gives cheer to God and cheer to others. Out of this experience we become the vine; we become the producer of something that cheers both man and God….There are different aspects of Christ to meet every need in every situation. Christ is so rich…. [He is] one that produces happiness for God and happiness for others….Christ as a wine producer [and] as the sacrificing Lamb lives in you, energizing you to sacrifice yourself for others to bring them cheer.

　　Several years ago when I was in Taipei, Taiwan, a good number of brothers and sisters came and stayed with us to receive some spiritual help. One sister among them was always murmuring, always complaining. When she took a bath, the water was not hot enough; when she ate a meal, the food was too cold. All day long it was, “Why this?” and “Why that?” She gave all of those who were living with her a headache…. She had never learned how to apply the sacrificing Christ to her situation. She herself was not a happy person, and she did not make anyone else happy. She was short of wine. She had no experience of Christ as the wine producer, sacrificing Himself to produce wine for others and for God.

　　You should be a person who is drunk and crazy with Christ. You should be able to say, “I am so happy, Lord, I am so happy. I do not know what selfishness means; that is a foreign language to me. Day by day I am drinking the wine of Christ.”

　　The most happy person is the most unselfish one. The most selfish people are always the most miserable….The sacrificing one is the happy one. How can we sacrifice? We have no energy to sacrifice, for our life is a natural life, a selfish life. Only the life of Christ is a life of sacrifice. If you contact this Christ and experience His sacrificing life, He will energize you, He will strengthen you to sacrifice for God and for others. Then you will be the most happy person; you will be drunk with happiness. This is the experience of Christ as the vine tree. By this experience you will become a vine to others. All of those who contact you will be happy with you, and you will bring cheer to God.

　　What must be done to the grapes to make them wine? They must be pressed. To make God and others happy, you must be pressed. You rejoice to learn that Christ is the barley, the resurrected Christ within you, and that He is enough to meet every situation. You say Hallelujah! But do not say Hallelujah too easily, for immediately following the barley is the vine. The grapes must be pressed to bring cheer to God and man. You too must be pressed. The more you drink the wine of Christ, the more you will realize that you must be pressed. You must be broken in order to produce something in the house of the Lord to make others happy. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” pp. 239-240)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” ch. 5